All Activity

Fact of the Day - FAKE FLAMINGOS Did you know.... If you’ve ever strolled through a market in the touristy part of a major city, you know that knockoff Gucci handbags and fake Rolexes are more abundant than real ones. The same can be said for flamingos, as the pink plastic lawn decorations made in their image far outnumber the actual birds. The exact number of real flamingos is hard to quantify given the animal’s broad global range and migration patterns, but estimates suggest there are roughly 3.45 million to 4.68 million flamingos in the wild. Those numbers pale in comparison to plastic flamingos, of which tens of millions exist. The item was created in 1957 by artist Don Featherstone based on an image in the October issue of National Geographic. Initially, the flamingo was sold with a plastic duck for $2.76 (roughly $31.73 as of 2025). Some consumers purchased the bird as a way to make their homes stand out in cookie-cutter housing developments, while others just liked the way it looked on their lawns. The 1960s saw a bit of backlash, as members of the counterculture movement rejected the ornaments for being tacky — but the flamingos were reembraced in the 1970s as people once again came to appreciate their kitsch. Sales spiked in the wake of the 1972 John Waters film Pink Flamingos and again rather inexplicably in 1985. In that year, several companies noted a confusing albeit welcome increase in purchases of the plastic bird, including big-box retailer Canadian Tire, whose sales jumped a whopping 70% year over year. When Featherstone passed away in 2015, The Washington Post reported that upward of 20 million fake flamingos had been sold since their debut, and that number continues to grow. Several species of real flamingo, however, find themselves in a population decline, including the lesser, Chilean, and Andean varieties. Flamingos aren't born pink. The colorful pink plumage of a standard flamingo has to do not with genetics, but with the bird’s diet. Flamingos are born with gray feathers and gradually develop their pink hue over the next two or so years. This happens as they consume more beta-carotene — a red-orange pigment that’s abundant in the many algaes, brine shrimp, and brine fly larvae flamingos eat. Once consumed, the pigments are broken down and absorbed by fats in the liver, which deposits the color into the bird’s feathers and skin. Zoos often serve a soupy, nutritious mixture with high levels of carotenoids to flamingos in captivity to promote good health and maintain the birds’ vibrant pink color. Source: There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones.

What's the Word: KINETIC pronunciation: [kə-NED-ik] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Greek, mid-19th century Meaning: 1. Relating to or resulting from motion. 2. (Of a work of art) Depending on movement for its effect. Examples: "The garden has a large kinetic water fountain as the centerpiece." "The museum featured a breathtaking display of kinetic art for the spring showcase." About Kinetic Kinetic comes from the Greek word "kinētikos," from the verb "kinein," meaning "to move." You can describe any sort of motion — from your first stretch in the morning to the giant drop on a roller coaster — as kinetic. The word is also used in the art world to describe moving sculptures. Did you Know? You might recognize "kine" in other moving words, including "kinesiology" ("the study of the mechanics of body movements"), "kinescope" ("a television picture tube"), and "kinesics" ("gestures and body movements serving as nonverbal communication"). They all come from the Greek root "kinēsis," meaning "movement."

Fact of the Day - VENUS (PLANET) Did you know..... There are entire websites devoted to whether or not Mercury is in retrograde at any given moment, and all the while Venus is spinning backward (compared to most other planets). As a result, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east on the second rock from the sun. Though no one’s entirely sure why our fiery neighbor rotates to the beat of its own drum, it’s been theorized that it originally spun in the same way as most other planets (counter-clockwise when viewed from above), but at some point flipped its own axis 180 degrees. So while its rotation appears backward from our earthbound perspective, it might be more accurate to say that Venus spins the same way it always has, just upside-down. Some scientists think the flip might have been the result of a situation arising from the planet’s extremely dense atmosphere along with the sun's intense gravitational pull, though the scientific community has yet to reach a consensus. For all that, Venus has often been referred to as Earth’s sister planet — even more so than Mars. We’re the two closest neighbors in the solar system, have similar chemical compositions, and are roughly the same size. One crucial difference: Venus probably cannot support life. Venus is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky. If you can only make out one object in the night sky other than the moon, it’s almost certainly Venus. It has the highest albedo — a term used by astronomers to describe a planet’s brightness — of any planet in the solar system, reflecting approximately 70% of the sunlight that hits it and its highly reflective clouds. (Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, outshines it by reflecting a full 90% of sunlight, making it the most reflective body in our solar system.) Venus is also relatively nearby and can sometimes be seen during daytime with the naked eye. Because it’s easiest to see just before sunrise and just after sunset, Venus has been nicknamed both the morning star and evening star (ancient people actually thought it was two separate planets). Source: Venus spins backward.

What's the Word: SAGACIOUS pronunciation: [sə-GEY-shus] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, early 17th century Meaning: 1. Having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment. Examples: "She could always rely on her mentor to provide sagacious feedback." "The op-ed provided a sagacious viewpoint on the recent city council controversy." About Sagacious To be sagacious means to be wise, but specifically showing keen judgment. It's not just about intelligence; it's showing discernment, too. Being sagacious could be described as using "street smarts" in addition to "book smarts." Did you Know? Sage is commonly known as the herb that provides a heavy dose of flavor at Thanksgiving, but the Latin word "sagax" also means "wise." Use "sage" as an adjective meaning "wise," or as a noun for "a wise person." "Sagacious" becomes the adjective if you feel it's wise to use a longer word.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/757910/Away/ Away is currently free on Steam. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/project-winter-3b9e84 Project Winter is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/samorost-2-1b9bb1 Samorost 2 is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/road-redemption-mobile-android-907d0f https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/road-redemption-mobile-ios-18d1e0 https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/road-redemption-mobile-full-game-unlock-34a6aa Road Redemption Full Game is currently free on Epic Games Store for Android and iOS devices. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/samorost-2-android-96a371 https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/samorost-2-ios-990d45 Samorost 2 is currently free on Epic Games Store for Android and iOS devices. https://freebies.indiegala.com/blacklist-mafia Blacklist Mafia is currently free on IndieGala.

Fact of the Day - MARBLES Did you know.... If you think the Electoral College is confusing, perhaps you’ll take a liking to The Gambia’s method of choosing its leaders: marbles. The small West African nation eschews paper ballots in favor of this novel approach, which was introduced in 1965 due to the country’s low literacy rate. Voters are given a marble upon checking in at their polling station, with each candidate represented by a photo affixed to a color-coded drum. Once the marble has been dropped into the voter’s drum of choice inside a private booth, a bell sounds to confirm it went through — and prevent anyone from attempting to vote twice. As simple as it is effective, the system has even been credited with ending The Gambia’s former dictatorship and keeping its democracy thriving. Other countries have adopted unique electoral processes as well. Aspiring presidential candidates in France need to secure 500 endorsements from elected officials, a time-consuming process meant to discourage fantasy candidates. In neighboring Germany, the Bundestag (lower house of the Parliament) requires two votes per ballot: one for a district representative and one for the voter’s preferred political party, which determines how many seats each party gets in the Bundestag overall. In general, half of the Bundestag’s 598 seats are determined by the first vote and half by the second. Only two countries’ names officially begin with “The.” And The Gambia is one of them. The use of the definite article isn’t entirely uncommon when referring to countries — the Netherlands and the United Kingdom come to mind — but it’s mostly used on an informal basis or because the grammar of the sentence requires it. According to such authoritative sources as the U.S. Department of State and the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, the only two countries that should officially be referred to with the definite article are The Gambia and The Bahamas. (It’s also appropriate when the place in question is a geophysical entity, such as groups of islands like the Maldives, but that’s again a matter of grammar rather than official naming practices.) The Gambia’s article comes in part because it was named after the River Gambia, and in part because of a request from the prime minister to avoid confusion with another African country that also earned its independence in the 1960s — Zambia. Source: The Gambia conducts elections using marbles instead of paper ballots.

What's the Word: ZEPHYR pronunciation: [ZEH-fər] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, late 17th century Meaning: 1. A soft gentle breeze. 2. A very light article of clothing. Examples: "The warm zephyr was a welcome sign that spring was here. " "You only need to wear a zephyr over your swimsuit for a trip to the beach." About Zephyr In Greek, "zephuros" means "god of the west wind." As "zefferus" moved into Old English, it became a personification of the west wind, or a metaphor for pleasant weather. By the late 17th century, the word "zephyr" was a poetic way to describe a gentle breeze — possibly from the west, but not necessarily. Did you Know? You can use "zephyr" to describe a welcome breeze on a warm day, or it might be the article of clothing you're wearing. "Zephyr" once referred to a specific kind of fine cotton gingham, but the term evolved to describe any lightweight garment.

Haha, I get this! I’m guilty of putting a tiny bit of butter on popcorn before microwaving it so it melts in properly, that crispy but buttery mix is just so good. Also, I sometimes put a pinch of salt on watermelon; sounds weird but it actually makes it taste sweeter. Nothing too crazy, just little tweaks that feel a bit odd to others.

I usually lean toward Doritos, they just have more crunch and the flavors hit harder. Cheetos are fun every now and then, but I always end up with orange fingers and a mess on my clothes, which gets annoying. That said, if I’m just snacking while watching something at home, Cheetos aren’t bad at all.

Fact of the Day - IS IT SAFE? Did you know... Look before you leap. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with iconic, vibrant autumns, you’re probably familiar with the other side of that experience: leaves everywhere. Watching those orange, yellow, and red leaves fall to the ground can feel a little less gratifying knowing you’ll have to rake them all into piles later. Still, those raked leaf piles present their own opportunities for fun. From Charlie Brown and Snoopy to Calvin and Hobbes, leaping full-force into a mound of leaves is a classic way to enjoy the outdoors once summer wanes. It’s hard to imagine that this iconic pastime could pose any serious threat, but there are actually some risks involved for both children and adults. Below, we’ll go over some of the biggest concerns around jumping in leaf piles and what you can do to be as safe as possible while soaking up the autumn season. Beware of hidden creatures—especially ticks. Unfortunately, leaf piles are the perfect environment for ticks to thrive. When jumping in, you may inadvertently present yourself as their next meal on a silver platter. It’s an increasingly likely risk because of the explosion in tick numbers due to the warming climate, especially in the Northeast United States. Out of all the dangers, ticks may be the most serious concern for potential leaf-jumpers due to the risk of contracting Lyme disease. A recent Dartmouth study found that the percentage of blacklegged (deer) ticks carrying Lyme disease in the Northeast has risen. This means that not only are there more ticks out there, but each one is more likely to transmit the disease if it bites you. There are measures you can take to protect yourself from ticks if you still want to jump in, though. Firstly, cover as much skin as possible by tucking your pants into your socks and your sleeves into gloves. It’s also a good idea to put on tick repellent. In addition, it’s ideal to wait until temperatures have dropped below 40°F, as that’s when ticks enter semi-hibernation. And of course, always perform a thorough tick check once you get inside. A tick needs to latch to your skin for roughly 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease, so if you spot one quickly, there it should reduce the danger after effectively removing it. If a leaf pile has been sitting around for awhile, though, other animals may also have found it a perfect place to call home. From the innocuous, like frogs and harmless insects like beetles, to the more serious, like spiders and snakes, there’s no telling what may be dwelling in the leaves until you’re actually in them. And the longer they sit out, the longer the pile has to acquire new residents. For that reason—in addition to the risk of mold growth over time—it’s best to jump into fresh leaf piles exclusively. Location matters. Finally, it’s important to consider the location of a leaf pile before jumping in and playing around. For one, the surface under it could pose an injury risk. If the leaves have all been raked onto concrete, for example, they may not provide enough cushion to soften a jump, and the ground underneath won’t be forgiving. Similarly, you want to avoid any leaf piles raked onto the curb or otherwise near roads. It’s tempting to put the leaves there for removal, or just to get them off the lawn, but you should resist if you or any children may jump in them later. The leaves can make it difficult for drivers to see that there’s someone there. It’s better to be safe than sorry and only interact with leaf piles far removed from any moving vehicles. So is jumping in leaf piles safe? Jumping in leaf piles, like many other outdoor activities, poses risks. But with the proper precautions, it doesn’t have to be particularly dangerous. Instead, it can be the key to enjoying a crisp fall day—just make sure to check for ticks afterwards. Source: Is Jumping in Leaf Piles Safe?

What's the Word: RHAPSODY pronunciation: [RAP-sə-dee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, mid-16th century Meaning: 1. An effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling. 2. A free instrumental composition in one extended movement, typically one that is emotional or exuberant in character. Examples: "The story captured the rhapsody of first love and the emotions that go along with it. " "He wrote a rhapsody inspired by the colors of the changing autumn forest." About Rhapsody As a song, a rhapsody is exuberant and bold, full of feeling. It’s written as one instrumental composition. But you can also apply rhapsody outside of the music world. You might recognize “rhapsodies of praise” or a “rhapsody of spring.” Any expression of intense emotions and enthusiasm can be a rhapsody. Did you Know? In ancient Greece, a rhapsody was an epic poem, usually recited in one sitting. Over the years, a rhapsody became a song instead of a poem, but still exuberant and often quite long. You can find rhapsodies all throughout the history of classical music and in more modern forms, such as Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Lilo & Stitch (2025) I recently saw Lilo & Stitch (2025 Live-Action Remake). While I dislike them removing Gantu and a few other changes, I still had a fun time! My next movie might be Elio when it drops on Disney+ this September 17th, assuming I don't decide to watch something from my backlog.

Fact of the Day - IT'S A SAUSAGE? Did you know... When you think of Volkswagen, sausage probably isn’t what comes to mind. But since 1973, the car company has been producing its own prize-winning currywurst at its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, which also happens to be the globe’s largest car-manufacturing plant. The location was once considered remote, so the company has always provided on-site meal options; today, thousands of currywursts are made daily at the plant, using a secret recipe of pork, curry, pepper, ginger, and other spices, and typically served ladled with spicy ketchup. (Both the sausage and the ketchup even have their own VW part numbers.) The currywurst is not just a staple dish among assembly line workers and executives — five-packs are often given to customers and sold at dealerships, sports stadiums, and grocery stores. In 2018, Volkswagen sold 6.2 million cars and about 6.5 million of the 10-inch sausages; in 2024, it sold 5.2 million Volkswagen-branded vehicles and a record 8.5 million sausages. (The Volkswagen Group, which includes several other car brands, collectively sold 9 million cars in 2024.) The sausages are so popular, in fact, that when the company announced in August 2021 that it was removing meat products, including the traditional currywurst, from its menus at the Wolfsburg canteen, there was an uproar. Even former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder weighed in, and the sausages were eventually brought back in 2023. Don’t look for them in the U.S., though: While the currywursts are available in at least 11 countries, Volkswagen is not on the list of suppliers allowed to export processed pork stateside. You can still get a taste of another European company with a surprise food bestseller, though: IKEA’s bestselling product is actually its meatballs. Oscar Mayer Wienermobile drivers take a crash course at Hot Dog High. Each year, a class of 12 Hotdoggers — recent college grads chosen to steer the promotional Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles across the country — relish the chance to learn the inner workings of their new vehicle. Before hitting the road in a 27-foot-long, 11-foot-high fiberglass frankfurter, the Hotdoggers attend a two-week training camp in Madison, Wisconsin, home of Oscar Mayer’s headquarters. The Hotdogger program was established around 1987; in 2019, the company received thousands of applications for the paid, full-time, year-long brand ambassador positions. During their time at Hot Dog High, attendees become well-versed in wearing their “meat belts,” riding “shotbun,” and operating the “bunroof.” They also select Hotdogger names, such as Jalapeño Jackie, Cookout Christian, and Spicy Mayo Mayra. Afterward, six Weinermobiles roam the U.S., spending every week in a different city and piling on about 50,000 miles annually. Source: Volkswagen’s bestselling product isn’t a car — it’s a sausage.

What's the Word: MOIL pronunciation: [moyl] Part of speech: verb Origin: Latin, mid-16th century Meaning: 1. Work hard. 2. Move around in confusion or agitation. Examples: "You'll need to moil to get the bulbs planted before a frost, but it will be worth it in the spring." "She seemed lost as she moiled around the street corner." About Moil As a verb, "moil" primarily means "to work very hard." But if you work too hard, you might get overwhelmed or overheated. In comes the second definition of "moil," meaning "to move around in agitation." Did you Know? The modern definition of "moil" is the opposite of its roots. In Latin, "mollis" means "soft," and "moil" originally meant "to moisten or soften" a substance. But if you're laboring in mud, it's probably pretty hard work, and that's likely how "moil" came to mean "strenuous work."

Fact of the Day - DIVE BARS Did you know.... We dive in to this not-very-sobering linguistic mystery. If you’re in a tavern and find yourself surrounded by ripped upholstery, a stained counter, and dirty glasses, chances are you’re in a dive bar. As drinking establishments go, dives aren’t necessarily a bad thing: Some people enjoy the gloomy ambiance of a well-worn pub and its well-worn patrons. But why do we refer to these lived-in spaces as dive bars? The Origin of Dive Bar According to the Oxford English Dictionary, dive bar was preceded by dive, a colloquial term for “an illegal drinking-den, or other disreputable place of resort, often situated in a cellar, basement, or other half-concealed place, into which frequenters may ‘dive’ without observation.” The term first saw print in 1871, when the New York Herald observed that a local bar was “one of the gayly decorated dives where young ladies ... dispense refreshments to thirsty souls.” Dive in this context took on two separate—but often related—meanings. One was literal: In order to gain entry to a dive, one must descend into a subterranean location the way an ocean explorer must dive into the depths. The other was more metaphorical; entering a dive meant lowering oneself into a less reputable area of society where vices like drinking, narcotics, and gambling prevailed. To dive implied that you’d sooner not be seen or recognized. Because dive could refer to any number of seedy locations, it became necessary to distinguish them from one another. The OED dates dive bar, a “shabby, cheap, or disreputable bar,” to 1940, but printed mentions appeared long before that. In a 1902 edition of The Daily News out of Perth, Australia, a travel column featuring its author in London mentioned that “Australians who are not quite at the top of the finance go to the Fleapit, a dive-bar and billiard-room and restaurant ... ” What Makes a Dive Bar a Dive Bar Not all dive bars start out as dive bars. “Their first [life] is as a tavern, mom-and-pop shop, roadhouse, speakeasy, juke joint, nightclub, honky tonk, club, lounge, pub, beer hall, fern bar, gay bar, tiki joint, inn, or saloon,” wrote T.J. Flynn in Thrillist in 2016. “At some point in time, unforeseen circumstances lead to compromises in upkeep, inventory, and clientele. This can occur slowly or swiftly, but the consequences are lasting. Often it is the result of changes occurring in the neighborhood in which the bar is situated, but many a dive was borne of divorce, health crises, or legal judgments. Flynn’s additional criteria for a dive bar: no craft beers, no branded bar merchandise, no kitchen menu, and plenty of dirty windows. In 2015, a (loosely) organized dive bar crawl in Syracuse, New York, offered some other parameters, as did citizens of Reno, Nevada, in 2025. A sampling: Feature Regular Bar Dive Bar Pickled Bar Food X Clean Bathrooms X Franchise X Indoor Smoking X Worn Furniture X Cheap Drinks X Open for Two Decades or More X Condom Vending Machines in Bathroom X Craft Beers X Weird Smell X Drunk People X X Is Dive Bar an Insult or a Compliment? Whether dive bar is a pejorative term or a compliment depends a lot on who’s using it and why. For some, dive bars conjure up images of a homey, unpretentious setting. For others, it’s like saying you might get stabbed. The lack of pretense is usually the selling point. “It’s our view that today the term has mostly and rightly shed its negative connotations, and we take a flexible approach in part to avoid the exhausting semantics of it,” wrote Chris Drosner in Milwaukee Magazine in 2022. “A dive bar needn’t be lowbrow; it’s just a brow without judgment. A dive is natural, authentic, comfortable in its (usually wrinkled) skin ... And because people make a bar tick, not feeling judged is one of the things that really makes a great dive bar.” For some, dive bar is a synonym for neighborhood bar—a place that doesn’t need any fancy décor or a particularly clean bathroom in order to attract customers. “A dive bar,” wrote the Staten Island Advance in 2019, “is a low-key neighborhood spot were locals gather to drink and socialize—often sipping on a simple selection of drinks. Dive bars are the beloved pubs and taverns that have operated within a community for years because they have their regulars and know how to keep it simple.” In this context, dive bar means “longevity.” If a bar owner wants to cultivate a reputation for being a dive bar, however, they probably need to avoid calling themselves a dive bar. Opening Dave’s Dive does not automatically bestow dive status. That’s up to the customers. Source: Why Do We Call Sketchy Pubs “Dive Bars”?

What's the Word: BILDUNGSROMAN pronunciation: [BIL-dungz-ro-mahn] Part of speech: noun Origin: German, early 20th century Meaning: 1. A novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education. Examples: "She had an entire shelf in her home library devoted to Bildungsroman." "The Bildungsroman told the story of his journey from a one-room schoolhouse to graduating from medical school." About Bildungsroman Bildungsroman is an intimidating word for a literary style popular with all types of readers. "Bildung" is German for "education," and "roman" is a novel. Simply put, it's a coming-of-age story. Since the noun is borrowed directly from German, it's usually capitalized (following the German rule), but it's still correct in English if it's not. Did you Know? Emma by Jane Austen, "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Huston, and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee — all Bildungsromans. Any story that concerns the moral, educational, and philosophical development of a young person falls into this family of novels. A more modern term for this genre is "coming-of-age story" and it applies to narratives across literature, TV, film, and theater.

Fact of the Day - THROUGH THICK AND THIN Did you know.... Lots of stuff can be thick or thin. But what inspired the expression? Through thick and thin might not be included in traditional marriage vows, but it sends the same message as expressions that are: “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health.” They all basically mean “through the good and the bad” or just “in any circumstances.” You might assume that thick here is good—thick walls, thick wallets, thick scarves, thick stews. You’re safe and warm, fat and happy. Thin, by contrast, evokes lean times: threadbare apparel, watery broth, and a shack that practically death-rattles at every stiff breeze. And sure, the beauty of such a vague cliché is that you can beef it up with whatever visuals you want. But through thick and thin originally meant something pretty specific. The Original Meaning of Through Thick and Thin According to the Oxford English Dictionary, usage of through thick and thin was “apparently originally with reference to ‘thicket and thin wood.’” Some sources have taken this to mean that the original phrase was through thicket and thin wood, which people eventually simplified to through thick and thin. This doesn’t seem to be the case. Nobody, not even the OED, cites any direct reference to through thicket and thin wood. If people used that phrase with enough regularity to engender a shortened version, we have yet to find evidence of it in the written record. More likely, the OED just means that through thick and thin itself originally involved traversing dense and sparse terrain. Traipsing through a thicket, with its tangle of crowded foliage, is much tougher than strolling through a thin wood with ample space between its trees. So thick refers to difficult circumstances, while thin implies easy going. In early usage, though, the expression wasn’t a metaphor. Through Thick and Thin to Chaucer, Spenser, and More The Oxford English Dictionary’s oldest reference to through thick and thin comes from “The Reeve’s Tale” of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In it, a thieving miller thwarts two students’ attempt to prevent his treachery by untying their horse. “And whan the hors was laus, he gynneth gon Toward the fen, ther wilde mares renne, And forth with ‘wehee,’ thurgh thikke and thurgh thenne.” Paraphrased in modern English, the loosed horse heads toward the fen, where wild mares run, and goes forth with a gleeful neigh “through thick and through thin.” (While the students are busy chasing the horse, the miller steals some of the flour he ground from their grain and tells his wife to make a cake.) A fen is a marsh, so picture the horse slogging through reed-covered sludge and galloping across more solid ground. There’s another great example in Amoryus and Cleopes, John Metham’s mid-15th-century English take on Greek mythology’s star-crossed lovers Pyramus and Thisbe (later an influence on Shakespeare). One night, Amoryus and Cleopes—whose families don’t approve of their love—hear each other on either side of a very tall, very thick wall separating their families’ land. Cleopes tells Amoryus to find the hole in the wall, and “forth thru thyk and thyn” he leaps, letting no “nettyl busche ner thorn” stop him from reaching it. Edmund Spenser used through thick and thin in Book III of his epic poem The Faerie Queene, published in 1590. Knights Arthur and Guyon have just watched a fair-haired lady (later identified as Florimell) crash through “the thickest brush” on a white steed. She’s terrified, clearly fleeing some evil, and soon the knights learn what: a forester “breathing out beastly lust” as he chases her on a weary horse. “His tyreling [j]ade he fiersly forth did push, Through thicke and thin, both ouer banck and bush In hope her to attaine by hooke or crooke … ” All three references to through thick and thin evoke a rushed, chaotic journey toward some highly coveted pursuit, be it the simple freedom of Chaucer’s horse or the nefarious aim—rape, namely—of Spenser’s forester. The Figurative Thick and Thin It’s hard to pinpoint who first used through thick and thin figuratively. One early example is from John Dryden’s play The Spanish Friar, published in 1681. “If you want a [thorough paced liar] that will swear through thick and thin, commend me to a Fryar,” says the moneylender Gomez, lambasting the corrupt Father Dominic for lying about him. By the 19th century, people had even started using thick-and-thin as an adjective meaning “steadfast.” You could, for instance, be a thick-and-thin friend or a thick-and-thin supporter of a political party. It’s also hard to pinpoint exactly when everyone forgot that the idiom once referred to varied terrain—maybe it happened gradually as cars supplanted horses in the 20th century. We just don’t trample through brambly underbrush like we used to. Source: ‘Through Thick and Thin’ Once Had a Literal Meaning

What's the Word: GNOMIC pronunciation: [NOH-mik] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Greek, early 19th century Meaning: 1. Expressed in or of the nature of short, pithy maxims or aphorisms. 2. Enigmatic; ambiguous. Examples: "He seemed incapable of original thought and spoke only in gnomic riddles." "The campaign speech excited the voters but remained gnomic in substance." About Gnomic The roots of this speech-related adjective are the same as the roots for the fairy-tale creature. In Greek, "gnōmē" means "thought or judgment." Gnomes have served many purposes in fantastical stories, but they're often storytellers, or givers of advice. The adjective "gnomic" became applied to trite sayings in the 19th century, well after the genesis of stories of magical gnomes. Did you Know? You might assume this adjective is of the garden-gnome variety, but it serves multiple purposes. You can use it to describe anything gnome-like, but it's better used to describe advice given through short, commonplace adages. Just don't go asking your garden gnome for his opinions; he'll probably remain fairly silent.

Fact of the Day - FACE DISTORTING Did you know.... You may have grown up testing your nerve in front of the mirror by chanting in the dark to see if any spirits would appear. And while this may not summon ghosts, it turns out it can summon illusions. Staring into a dimly lit mirror for an extended period of time can distort your perception of your own face, making it appear to warp, blur, or even morph into someone — or something — else. This phenomenon, dubbed the “strange-face-in-the-mirror illusion,” was first described in a 2010 study by Italian psychologist Giovanni Caputo. Subjects were placed in a room lit by a 25-watt lamp behind them with a mirror about a foot in front of them. They typically began to perceive the illusion after less than a minute, and after 10 minutes of gazing, many reported eerie changes. More than 60% of participants saw “huge deformations” to their own faces, while others saw someone else entirely in their reflection, such as an old woman or a child. Almost 20% described seeing animal faces such as a cat, pig, or lion, and almost half experienced distorted perceptions of monstrous beings. The effect may seem frightening, but it isn’t supernatural — it’s neurological. When the brain is deprived of dynamic visual input, it quickly starts to adapt. Think of the optical illusions you’ve likely tried: In the lilac chaser, for example, a ring of lilac dots seems to vanish and a green dot appears in their place. This happens because of a process called the Troxler effect, in which staring at a fixed point can make surrounding details fade. At the same time, because our brains are wired to search for faces, the experiment can also result in subjects seeing the faces of their own parents or other loved ones staring back. Interestingly, this kind of illusion isn’t limited to mirrors. Caputo found in another study that staring into someone else’s eyes in dim light can trigger similar — or in some cases, even more dramatic — hallucinatory experiences. Many participants saw facial deformities and monsters, but they also reported that colors seemed muted, the volume of surrounding sounds noticeably increased or decreased, time felt stretched, and they felt spacey and dazed. Those tiny specks in your vision are shadows inside your eyes. The tiny dots that occasionally drift through your vision may seem to be specks of dust in the atmosphere, but those eye floaters, as they’re called, are actually shadows cast on your retina. They’re caused by clumps of collagen fibers floating around inside the gel-like vitreous body between the lens and retina. When light passes through the eye, those tiny clumps block or scatter it slightly, creating the little shapes you see. The clumps also move as your eyes move, darting across your field of vision, and they’re more visible against bright backgrounds such as a clear sky or a white wall. Source: Staring in a dimly lit mirror too long can distort your perception of your face.

What's the Word: DEMONYM pronunciation: [DEM-ə-nim] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, mid-19th century Meaning: 1. A noun used to denote the natives or inhabitants of a particular country, state, city, etc. Examples: "He knew the demonym for a resident of Indiana is 'Hoosier,' but he didn't know why." "I currently live in Australia, but I still claim my demonym as British." About Demonym A demonym identifies a native of a certain geographical place or ethnic group. Forming these words might be as simple as adding a suffix (Japanese, Egyptian, Parisian), or they could be entirely different words (Okie, Mancunian, Neapolitan). Did you Know? Demonym comes from Greek — "dēmos" meaning "people" and "onuma" meaning "name" — but the usage has changed over time. It used to be applied to a noun used as a pen name, such as on a pamphlet written by "A Country Clergyman." The term was resurrected in the 1990s as a descriptor of residency.

Fact of the Day - THEY CAN'T SEE RED Did you know.... If the very idea of bullfights makes you see red, you’re not alone — even though bulls themselves can’t actually see the color. As is the case with other cattle and grazing animals such as sheep and horses, bulls' eyes have two types of color receptor cells (as opposed to the three types that humans have) and are most attuned to yellows, greens, blues, and purples. This condition, a kind of colorblindness known as dichromatism, makes a bullfighter’s muleta (red cape) look yellowish-gray to the animals. So why are bulls enraged by the sight of matadors waving their muletas? The answer is simple: motion. The muleta isn’t even brought out until the third and final stage of a bullfight. The reason it’s red is a little unsavory — it’s actually because the color masks bloodstains. In 2007, the TV show MythBusters even devoted a segment to the idea that bulls are angered by the color red, finding zero evidence that the charging animals care what color is being waved at them and ample evidence that sudden movements are what really aggravate the poor creatures. Most colorblind people are men. One in 12 men are colorblind, while only one in 200 women are. That’s due to the fact that the red-green variant of colorblindness (in which people have trouble telling red, green, and sometimes other shades apart) — which is by far the most common type — is usually passed down via genes located on the X chromosome. Men only have one X chromosome and women have two, and in women, both X chromosomes need to have the relevant genetic issues for them to be born with red-green colorblindness. Blue-yellow colorblindness (confusing blue with green and yellow with red) and complete colorblindness (the inability to see any colors), meanwhile, are passed down via other chromosomes and affect men and women at roughly the same rate. Source: Bulls can’t actually see the color red.

What's the Word: NIRVANA pronunciation: [nir-VAH-nə] Part of speech: noun Origin: Sanskrit, 1830s Meaning: 1. A state of perfect happiness; an ideal or idyllic place. 2. (In Buddhism) A transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism. Examples: "After a stressful year at work, the week at the spa was nirvana for her." "When he started studying Buddhism, he was fascinated by the idea of achieving Nirvana." About Nirvana Nirvana is a Sanskrit word that means "the act of extinguishing." It is the ultimate goal of the Buddhist path. Now the term "nirvana" can be applied to any state of extreme bliss, but it's still helpful to understand the Buddhist roots. Did you Know? Kurt Cobain, the singer and guitarist of the rock band Nirvana, said, “I wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name."

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/ghostrunner-2 Ghostrunner 2 is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/monument-valley-2-addd02 Monument Valley 2 is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-battle-of-polytopia-12fed6 The Battle of Polytopia is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/p/monument-valley-2-android-b21888 https://store.epicgames.com/p/monument-valley-2-ios-b4a7bf Monument Valley 2 is currently free on Epic Games for Android and iOS devices. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-battle-of-polytopia-android-2acf81 https://store.epicgames.com/p/the-battle-of-polytopia-ios-afc195 The Battle of Polytopia is currently free on Epic Games for Android and iOS devices.

Fact of the Day - SCIENTIFIC THEORY Did you know... It’s more than just an educated guess. In casual conversation, people often use the word theory to mean “hunch” or “guess”: If you forget to put the bread in the breadbox and discover chunks have been taken out of it the next morning, you might theorize that you have mice in your kitchen. In science, a theory is a stronger assertion. Typically, it's a claim about the relationship between various facts; a way of providing a concise explanation for what's been observed. The American Museum of Natural History puts it this way: "A theory is a well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws, hypotheses and facts." For example, Newton’s theory of gravity—also known as his law of universal gravitation—says that every object, anywhere in the universe, responds to the force of gravity in the same way. Observational data from the moon’s motion around the Earth, the motion of Jupiter’s moons around Jupiter, and the downward fall of a dropped hammer are all consistent with Newton’s theory. So Newton’s theory provides a concise way of summarizing what we know about the motion of these objects—indeed, of any object responding to the force of gravity. A scientific theory “organizes experience,” James Robert Brown, an emeritus professor in the philosophy of science at the University of Toronto, told Mental Floss. “It puts it into some kind of systematic form.” A Successful Theory Explains A theory’s ability to account for already known facts lays a solid foundation for its acceptance. Let's take a closer look at Newton’s theory of gravity as an example. In the late 17th century, the planets were known to move in elliptical orbits around the sun, but no one had a clear idea of why the orbits had to be shaped like ellipses. Similarly, the movement of falling objects had been well understood since the work of Galileo a half-century earlier; the Italian scientist had worked out a mathematical formula that describes how the speed of a falling object increases over time. Newton's great breakthrough was to tie all of this together. According to legend, his moment of insight came as he gazed upon a falling apple in his native Lincolnshire. In Newton’s theory, every object is attracted to every other object with a force that’s proportional to the masses of the objects, but inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This is known as an “inverse square” law. For example, if the distance between the sun and Earth were doubled, the gravitational attraction between the Earth and the sun would be cut to one-quarter of its current strength. Newton, using his theories and a bit of calculus, was able to show that the gravitational force between the Sun and the planets as they move through space meant that orbits had to be elliptical. Newton’s theory is powerful because it explains so much: the falling apple, the motion of the moon around the Earth, and the motion of all of the planets—and even comets—around the sun. All of it now made sense. A Successful Theory Also Predicts A theory gains even more support if it predicts new, observable phenomena. The English astronomer Edmond Halley used Newton’s theory of gravity to calculate the orbit of the comet that now bears his name. Taking into account the gravitational pull of the sun, Jupiter, and Saturn, in 1705, he predicted that the comet, which had last been seen in 1682, would return in 1758. Sure enough, it did, reappearing in December of that year. (Unfortunately, Halley didn’t live to see it; he died in 1742.) The predicted return of Halley’s comet, Brown said, was “a spectacular triumph” of Newton's theory. In the early 20th century, Newton’s theory of gravity would itself be superseded—as physicists put it—by Einstein’s, known as general relativity. (Where Newton envisioned gravity as a force acting between objects, Einstein described gravity as the result of a curving or warping of space itself.) General relativity was able to explain certain phenomena that Newton’s theory couldn't account for, such as an anomaly in the orbit of Mercury, which slowly rotates—the technical term for this is precession—so that while each loop the planet takes around the sun is an ellipse, over the years Mercury traces out a spiral path similar to one you may have made as a kid on a Spirograph. Significantly, Einstein’s theory also made predictions that differed from Newton’s. One was the idea that gravity can bend starlight, which was spectacularly confirmed during a solar eclipse in 1919 (and made Einstein an overnight celebrity). Nearly 100 years later, in 2016, the discovery of gravitational waves confirmed yet another prediction. In the century between, at least eight predictions of Einstein’s theory have been confirmed. A Theory Can Evolve, Merge, or Be Replaced And yet physicists believe that Einstein’s theory will one day give way to a new, more complete theory. It already seems to conflict with quantum mechanics, the theory that provides our best description of the subatomic world. The way the two theories describe the world is very different. General relativity describes the universe as containing particles with definite positions and speeds, moving about in response to gravitational fields that permeate all of space. Quantum mechanics, in contrast, yields only the probability that each particle will be found in some particular location at some particular time. What would a unified theory of physics—one that combines quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of gravity—look like? Presumably it would combine the explanatory power of both theories, allowing scientists to make sense of both the very large and the very small in the universe. A Theory Can Also Be a Fact Let's shift from physics to biology for a moment. It is precisely because of its vast explanatory power that biologists hold Darwin’s theory of evolution—which allows scientists to make sense of data from genetics, physiology, biochemistry, paleontology, biogeography, and many other fields—in such high esteem. As the biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky put it in an influential essay in 1973, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Interestingly, the word evolution can be used to refer to both a theory and a fact—something Darwin himself realized. “Darwin, when he was talking about evolution, distinguished between the fact of evolution and the theory of evolution,” Brown said. “The fact of evolution was that species had, in fact, evolved [i.e. changed over time]—and he had all sorts of evidence for this. The theory of evolution is an attempt to explain this evolutionary process.” The explanation that Darwin eventually came up with was the idea of natural selection—roughly, the idea that an organism’s offspring will vary, and that those offspring with more favorable traits will be more likely to survive, thus passing those traits on to the next generation. People Have Confidence in Theories Many theories are rock-solid: Scientists have just as much confidence in the theories of relativity, quantum mechanics, evolution, plate tectonics, and thermodynamics as they do in the statement that the Earth revolves around the sun. Other theories, closer to the cutting-edge of current research, are more tentative, like string theory (the idea that everything in the universe is made up of tiny, vibrating strings or loops of pure energy) or the various multiverse theories (the idea that our entire universe is just one of many). String theory and multiverse theories remain controversial because of the lack of direct experimental evidence for them, and some critics claim that multiverse theories aren't even testable in principle. They argue that there’s no conceivable experiment that one could perform that would reveal the existence of these other universes. Sometimes more than one theory is put forward to explain observations of natural phenomena; these theories might be said to “compete,” with scientists judging which one provides the best explanation for the observations. “That's how it should ideally work,” Brown said. “You put forward your theory, I put forward my theory; we accumulate a lot of evidence. Eventually, one of our theories might prove to obviously be better than the other, over some period of time. At that point, the losing theory sort of falls away. And the winning theory will probably fight battles in the future.” Source: What Is a Scientific Theory?

What's the Word: APPURTENANCE pronunciation: [ə-PERT-ən-ns] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 14th century Meaning: 1. An accessory or other item associated with a particular activity or style of living. Examples: "She decorated her new car with fun appurtenances, such as fuzzy seat covers and a phone holder." "I keep a bag packed with all the appurtenances I need for the gym so I can go at any time." About Appurtenance You can trace this noun back to the French verb “apartenir,” which means to belong to. Go back even further and you'll arrive at the Latin “appertineō,” which means I belong. The English noun "appurtenance" holds this meaning as objects that belong to a certain category. Did you Know? You can use "appurtenance" to describe specific objects or in a general sense to talk about equipment associated with a particular category. In a specific sense, these items are supplemental accessories, such as the extra appurtenances for a stand mixer. In a general sense, these items can designate a type of person or activity, such as a garage with all the appurtenances of motorcycle riding.